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The Return of the Condor Heroes
The Return of the Condor Heroes was Wuxia Writer Jin Yong's fifth novel. Written in 1959, it was originally published in the Ming Pao newspaper. This is the second novel of the Condor Trilogy. Synopsis The story is set in mid-13th century at the height of the Mongolian Invasion. It is during this time that Guo Jing and Huang Rong, with their unmatchable reputation and skill, rally hundreds of thousands to defend Xiangyang, the last stronghold that stands in the Mongolians' way. The story begins with Li Mochou's massacre of the Lu family. Her reasons of this massacre was the rejection of Lu Zhanyuan towards her, many years ago. Not realizing Lu Zhanyuan and his wife had died years earlier, Li Mochou attacked the family manor. As Lu Zhanyuan's younger brother, sister-in-law, and Wu Sanniang fought against Li Mochou, their daughter Lu Wushuang escaped along with her cousin Cheng Ying. Despite hiding, Lu Wushuang was later abducted by Li Mochou while Cheng Ying was saved by East Heretic Huang Yaoshi. An orphan by the name of Yang Guo, is accidentally hurt by one of Li Mochou's poisonous needles. All of a sudden, a insane West Poison Ouyang Feng appeared and helped Yang Guo purge the poison after Yang Guo agreed to call him father. In his insanity, he treated Yang Guo as his son and taught him the Toad Stance. Later on that day, Guo Jing and his family met Yang Guo, and found the little boy resembling Guo Jing's sworn brother, Yang Kang. On learning that Yang Guo? was Yang Kang's son, they took him back with them to the city. Ouyang Feng, while looking for his godson, encounters Guo Jing and a battle ensues. With both superb fighters almost being equals, both suffered injuries and Ouyang Feng fled. Guo Jing then brought Yang Guo back to Peach Blossom Island to take care of him. On their way they also pick up the Wu Brothers, who's mother Wu Sanniang had been killed by Li Mochou and father Wu Santong? seemed to have disappeared. Once back on the island, Guo Jing decided to take the three children and his own daughter Guo Fu as his martial arts disciples. Huang Rong, fearing Yang Guo would turn out like his father, convinced Guo Jing to let her teach Yang Guo. While the other children learned martial arts from Guo Jing, Yang Guo was taught how to read and write by Huang Rong. The other children would pick on Yang Guo and one day a fight ensued. Yang Guo, having not learned martial arts, was on the losing end. As the other children continued their assault, Yang Guo got angry and unexpectedly used the Toad Stance Ouyang Feng had taught him and critically injured Wu Xiuwen. Refusing to mention where he had learned the technique and to keep him from getting in fights with the other children, Yang Guo was sent to Quanzhen Sect on Mount Zhongnan for better guidance. Upon reaching the foot of Mt. Zhongnan, Guo Jing broke a stone carving out of frustration when Yang Guo asked about his father's death. Because of this, Quanzhen priests thought Guo Jing was barging into Mt. Zhongnan. Halfway up the mountain, they were attacked by 98 taoists, who used a modified Big Dipper Formation. As they attacked,Guo Jing was forced to fight back. As the battle continued, Yang Guo was abducted by a taoist priest. It was in this chaos that Guo Jing would fight and later defeat Mongolian Prince Huo Du. Yang Guo would manage to escape from his captor and get back to Guo Jing. Afterwards, the misunderstanding was explained. People had fought up Mount Zhongnan because false news was spread of a battle to determine a husband for the Ancient Tomb leader Xiaolongnu on her 18th birthday. Xiaolongnu was not only supposed to be beautiful, but the groom would gain access to all of the Ancient Tomb martial arts. The taoists had mistaken Guo Jing as one of the potential suitors and attacked. When all the chaos concluded, Guo Jing entrusted Yang Guo to the Quanzhen Sect. Zhao Zhijing, who held a grudge against Guo Jing for the punishment he received for leading the Big Dipper Formation against the wrong person, mistreated Yang Guo, beating him and not teaching him martial arts. Zhao Zhijing? taught Yang Guo the theory, but never taught him stances. At a sparring session between disciples, Yang Guo was once again forced to use the Toad Stance. Afterwards, Yang Guo ran and ended up at the Ancient Tomb and was taken in by Xiaolongnu's servant Granny Sun after Yang Guo and some taoists were stung by the Jade Bees. After Yang Guo recovered, Xiaolongnu told Granny Sun to take Yang Guo back and give the Jade Bee antidote to the poisoned taoists. Upon arrival, they were refused entry and later a battle ensued between Hao Datong and Granny Sun. Granny Sun was critically injured when Xiaolongnu arrived and took both Granny Sun and Yang Guo back to the Ancient Tomb. It was there that Granny Sun made Xiaolongnu promise to take care of Yang Guo. Xiaolongnu agreed and Granny Sun died afterwards. After she accepted Yang Guo as a disciple, Xiaolongnu imparted her skills to Yang Guo and together, they ended up learning the top Ancient Tomb art, Jade Maiden Heart Sutra. However, they weren't allow to wear anything in order to practice the internal cultivation portion. During one of these sessions, the two taoists Yin Zhiping and Zhao Zhijing went closer and closer to their location. This distraction would disrupt Xiaolongnu's energy, severely injuring her. At that moment, Li Mochou was preparing to return to the Ancient Tomb to look for the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra... Chapters There are 40 chapters in the novel. Each chapter has a 4-character title. # 風月無情 — No Love Under the Wind and the Moon # 故人之子 — A Friend’s Son # 投師終南 — Seeking Tutelage at Mount Zhongnan # 全真門下 — Under the Teaching of Quanzhen # 活死人墓 — The Tomb of Living Dead # 玉女心經 — Heart-Manual of the Jade Maiden # 重陽遺刻 — Wang Chongyang’s Markings # 白衣少女 — White Clothed Girl # 百計避敵 — A Hundred Ideas to Avoid Enemy # 少年英俠 — The Young Hero # 風塵睏頓 — A Pause from Roaming # 英雄大宴 — The Heroes’ Feast # 武林盟主 — The Chancellor of Martial Clans Wulin # 禮教大防 — Defending against Custom and Tradition # 東邪門人 — The Disciples of East Heretic # 殺父深仇 — Avenging a Father’s Death # 絕情幽谷 — The Secluded Passionless Valley # 公孫谷主 — Valley Master Gongsun # 地底老婦 — The Old Woman of Underground # 俠之大者 — A Hero’s Top Imperative # 襄陽鏖兵 — Battle at Xiangyang # 危城女嬰 — The Baby Girl of a Falling City # 手足情仇 — Sibling Rivalry # 驚心動魄 — Turbulent Emotions # 內憂外患 — Domestic Strife, Foreign Aggression # 神雕重劍 — Divine Eagle’s Heavy Sword # 鬥智鬥力 — Fighting Strength with Wisdom # 洞房花燭 — Wedding Festivities # 劫難重重 — Ultimate Disasters # 離合無常 — Strange Encounters # 半枚靈丹 — The Other Half of the Antidote # 情是何物 — What Entity is Love # 風陵夜話 — Tales in the Night # 排難解紛 — Settling a Dispute # 三枚金針 — The Three Golden Needles # 生辰大禮 — The Birthday Celebration # 三世恩怨 — Gratitudes and Grudges of Three Generations # 生死茫茫 — Life and Death are Boundless # 大戰襄陽 — Battle of Xiangyang # 華山之巔 — The Summit of Mount Hua Characters Protagonists * Yang Guo * Xiaolongnü * Divine Condor * Guo Jing * Huang Rong * Lu Wushuang * Cheng Ying * Wanyan Ping * Guo Fu * Gongsun Lü'e * Guo Xiang Antagonists *Jinlun Guoshi *Li Mochou *Gongsun Zhi *Zhao Zhijing *Huo Du *Möngke Khan The Five Greats At the end of the novel, the new five greats were named at Huashan. * Central Mischief Zhou Botong * East Heretic Huang Yaoshi * West Passionate Yang Guo * South Monk Yi Deng * North Hero Guo Jing Adaptations This novel is one of the best known among Jin Yong's works. It is the most frequently adapted Jin Yong novel. TV series Category:Wuxia Novels Category:Jin Yong Novels Category:Condor Trilogy